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Knock and Talk Technique 3 1252_Book Page 53 Friday, November 15, 2002 7:51 AM Knock and Talk Technique 3 Law enforcement officers, specifically drug enforcement investigators, are always looking for innovative ways to combat the drug trade. Historically, drug enforcement officers have utilized traditional methods of narcotic enforcement, such as the use of informants, undercover operations, sur- veillance, wire intercepts, and reverse sting drug operations. Never did the drug enforcement officer imagine that merely knocking on a drug dealer’s door and asking if he or she would surrender drugs to police officers or allow the police to search their residence for drugs would really work. In the early part of our careers, never did we think that this would be an option, much less a reality. The technique now known as a knock and talk is an effective law enforce- ment tool, not only for drug investigations, but also in other criminal inves- tigations. The method is a consensual encounter as described in Chapter 2. This is one type of encounter that starts with the consent of the individual. The difference here is that we are going to the person’s residence or business and asking for a consent search. A consent search is one of the exceptions to a search warrant. This technique is believed to have started in the early to mid-1980s and has developed today into an excellent investigative option. It is creating previously unimagined investigative opportunities. Before this technique, drug enforcement units would receive information regarding drug traffickers dealing or possessing drugs in their homes and businesses, but really did not know what to do with the information. Investigators would rack their brains to think of a way to “get in” to the residence or business to try to make a drug case. If no informants were available or surveillance was either imprac- tical or failed to produce the desired results, that information would probably be left in a file cabinet somewhere. Intelligence information regarding drug activity was handled in that fashion before this technique. 53 1252_Book Page 54 Friday, November 15, 2002 7:51 AM 54 Drug Interdiction Criminal intelligence should be collected by law enforcement; how- ever, if we do not act upon the information, it is essentially worthless. The knock and talk technique provides an investigative avenue for law enforce- ment to act on information and intelligence. According to L.T. “Tom” McCabe of Schlim, McCabe & Associates, “the method is simple and straightforward.” McCabe is a former California law enforcement officer, and he and his associates teach the technique throughout the United States. The knock and talk enhances a law enforcement agency’s ability to combat crime with minimal expense and resources. Whether the police agency is small and rural or large and urban, the knock and talk program can be used with success. What is a Knock and Talk? In this chapter, we will explore a number of areas regarding this investigative tool. We will define the nature of knock and talk investigations, identify when it would be most advantages to use this technique, as well as learn the steps of this process. We will emphasize the safety concerns surrounding knock and talk investigations. The term knock and talk simply means what it infers: knocking on someone’s door, talking with him, asking for consent to search the premises æ the subject’s home, apartment, or business. The knock and talk tech- nique does not require probable cause or a search warrant to allow law enforcement to make contact with an individual and ask for a consensual search of the premises. Many courts provide a definition of a consensual encounter. In the case of U.S. v. Werking, 915 F.2d. 1404, 1410, 10th Circuit (1991), the court stated that “a consensual encounter is simply the volun- tary cooperation of a private citizen in response to non-coercive question- ing by a law enforcement official.” In U.S. v. Cormier, 220 F.3d. 1103, 9th Circuit (2000), the court indicated “the general rule regarding ‘knock and talk’ encounters is that there is no rule which makes it illegal per se, or a condemned invasion of the person’s right of privacy, for anyone openly and peaceably to knock on the front door of any man’s ‘castle’ with the honest intent of asking questions of the occupant. There is no evidence to indicate that was anything other than consensual and no suspicion needed to be shown in order to justify the ‘knock and talk.’” Skeptics of this technique will say that a drug dealer is not going to let you into his home to search for drugs. That may be true under certain circumstances. However, it is absolutely astonishing how many times a drug trafficker provides consent to officers to search his premises. In many cases, the drug dealer surrenders narcotics to the officers. 1252_Book Page 55 Friday, November 15, 2002 7:51 AM Knock and Talk Technique 55 You never know what can happen in a knock and talk; but if you do not try, nothing will happen anyway. The technique calls for being assertive and trying something new. Many police officers say to us, “That stuff won’t work in our area. They won’t let us in their houses.” We say that may be true; however, one never knows until one tries. Case Study An investigator in the south part of the country asked a knock and talk detective to make an arrest for him. The investigator, who was an undercover officer, had purchased a small baggie of marijuana from a suspect several weeks earlier. The investigation had come to a standstill and he was ready to arrest the suspect. The agency had a knock and talk section, and the detective volunteered to arrest the suspect for the undercover officer and ask for consent search of the suspect’s residence. The detective arrived at the residence and spoke to the suspect. He told the person he was conducting a narcotics investigation; however, he never told the person he was a suspect or that he was under arrest. The detective and his partner asked the suspect for a consent search of his home, which was given. The search revealed 200 pounds of marijuana in the garage of his home. The undercover investigator was certainly surprised when he heard what was found in the suspect’s home. What typically happens with the information that law enforcement receives about a person dealing drugs? Generally a police agency receives information via a “tip” from an informant or other source of information that a particular individual is trafficking narcotics at their residence or busi- ness. Information may be received through a tip line, set up by the police agency to receive information about drug dealing in their community. Many police agencies take this information and act upon it. Much of the informa- tion received via a tip line is anonymous, and many of the people providing information about drug dealing prefer to remain anonymous. Information received through a tip line is often generic, something like “Cars are coming to the house and leaving a short time later. I think the guy is dealing drugs because he doesn’t work.” Other tips may be more specific as to what is occurring at a location, such as “the person is dealing cocaine from his business and keeps the drugs in a safe in his office.” Historically, this infor- mation was too generic to act upon if no other investigative avenues were available, such as an informant. Today, we can and should act upon just this information. As law enforcement we have an obligation to act upon infor- mation regarding drug dealing. Certainly there is an element of risk involved in the decision of doing a knock and talk. We may get nothing at all; the person may slam the door in our faces and refuse to allow us to search. At 1252_Book Page 56 Friday, November 15, 2002 7:51 AM 56 Drug Interdiction least we tried to do something and show the community that we are acting on the information. We put people on notice and advise them we are aware of their activities. Yes, the person may move from the area, and some would argue that we are just displacing crime. That may be true; however, at least we tried to act upon this very serious problem we call drugs. An investigative group or analyst will do some background work on the individual, and there may or may not be information concerning their nar- cotics activities. At this point, depending on the police agency, the informa- tion may be provided to a detective for further follow-up investigation. The investigator may drive by the residence or business to see if there is any activity and what vehicles are at the location. He or she may conduct some surveillance at the location. There may or may not be any activity observed at the location that would indicate that drug trafficking could be occurring. Once all of the investigative efforts have been exhausted and there is no active informant or other information, the investigator may either close the investigation or try to obtain further information at a later time. The knock and talk may be an option at this point. The investigator and his or her partner travel to the location, knock on the door, and ask to speak with the occupants. Investigators at this point should ask consent to enter the premises to discuss some concerns regarding information they have received. A consent may be considered coerced if the investigator uses some sort of trickery or is untruthful about his true purpose.
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